"Hey, who let these strays in here?" A short and plump bespectacled nurse attacked Cyrina and her mother as soon as she got to the nurses' counter.
Both Cyrina and her mother were seated in a waiting chair and did nothing to piss the woman off. However, despite Coprean Hills Premium Medical Centre being a place for the rich and powerful only, the bespectacled nurse was jealous of Cyrina's attractive looks.
The young lady, though in cheap clothes, had a beauty that the nurse could only watch in magazines.
The mother and daughter didn't say a word in response to the nurse, as they didn't want to create a scene. That aside, Cyrina was in too much pain to respond to anyone.
"Hey, you peasants, I'm talking to you. I could throw you out of here, you know." She had no mercy for the sick patients, but wished to disgrace them further for ignoring her.
"We don't want any trouble, please." Cyrina's mother spoke up, hugging her daughter tighter, as Cyrina lay in her arms.
"Where is the young lady? She wouldn't leave us here to be disgraced, right? Are you sure she'll pay like she promised?" At her words, Cyrina's mother watched wide-eyed as a family member of a patient deposited ten thousand dollars before treatment could commence.
"Oh, so you don't have money? I knew it. Why then are you here? Missed your way?" She taunted, not caring about the onlookers.
"Let's get out of here, Mom. No need to be thrown out like dogs." She felt bitter that Iris left them without a word. All Iris said was that she would be back. What if she changed her mind and didn't wish to pay for their treatment anymore? That would be too embarrassing. They were poor, but not shameless.
"Ouch!!" Cyrina hissed from the sharp pain when she tried to stand up and walk. She couldn't understand why her body felt like it was being pricked by a million pins. Even her abdomen felt like it was on fire.
"Rina, are you okay?" Her mother held her more firmly, ensuring that she didn't fall.
"Where do you think you're going?" The nurse fired at Cyrina and her mother.
"Mom, I feel weak and dizzy." Cyrina whispered, and her mother became agitated. She could see that her daughter wasn't okay, and they were in the hospital. Yet, ironically, they were being driven out of the premises because of their poor looks.
"Where do you think you're going? Stay right there. I need to call security. You don't get to walk in and out of this place like it's your backyard. That's if you even have one." As the nurse said this, she reached for the phone and rang the security to rush to the outpatients department.
"Take it easy, Rina. Let's go to a pharmacy and get some drugs. I have some cash stashed away. Just hang in there for a while, okay?" Cyrina's mother assured her daughter, after which she began to wonder if she'd need to close her bank account to get whatever was needed. The amount there was so small that closing the account was the only way she could get the money. That was the only way she could have the few dollars left and treat her daughter somehow.
As they moved slowly toward the exit, the nurse separated the mother and daughter carelessly, while declaring angrily, "Your daughter was talking here just now. How can she be this sick in a few seconds? Show me what you stole. What are you hiding? Show me now!"
As soon as her mother's hand let go of her, Cyrina vomited a mouthful of blood and fell to the floor.
"I… I… I didn't do anything." The nurse became defensive suddenly. She quickly stepped away to join her two other colleagues, who were just returning from the ward.
"I know this place treats the poor like dirt, but was it necessary to push us? You even call this a hospital? I might as well label it as a funeral home. A funeral home. That's what this place is." As Cyrina's mother spoke, she tried to get her daughter up, but no one paid attention to her.
Noticing her daughter wasn't responsive, the woman became hysterical. "You won't do anything after pushing a patient to the floor? If anything happens to my daughter…" She was cut off rudely.
"What would you do? Is this place a market or an amusement park? If you can't afford the place, must you be here?" A lavishly dressed young lady stood at the nurses' counter as her bill was given to her.
She sent her bodyguard off to make payments and was on her way to the carpark when she heard the woman shouting.
"Cyrina… Cyrina… Don't do this to mommy. You're the only family I have left. Please…" she cried hysterically, but no one reached out to help.
"Won't you throw out these trash? What's this? Has Coprean Hills Premium Medical Centre fallen this low?" At the young lady's words, the nurses rushed to throw the mother and daughter duo out of the hospital premises.
Cyrina's mom was dragged away from her daughter, while the security men who just stepped in tried to move her daughter.
"Touch her again, and I'll chop your hands off!" An icy voice sounded from the door suddenly, startling everyone.
"Rachel, hurry." Iris urged her sister in a scared tone. Rachel was already on her way to check on Cyrina, even before her sister spoke up.
As soon as Rachel took in the sight of the blood on the floor, she reached for her pager and requested for a VIP emergency room to be prepared.
"Seize all of them," Iris spoke to the bodyguards, who emerged from the shadows as soon as they heard her voice.
She turned to her personal guard and requested, "I want the CCTV footage," and watched him storm off before turning her attention to Cyrina, who was being wheeled away. Iris then motioned to one other guard and ordered, "Get the manager this instant!"
Cyrina's mother was inconsolable, but Iris had to stop her from chasing after the team of medical personnel who were wheeling her daughter away. "Please, save Rina. She's the only family I have in this town. Please."
Iris hugged the weeping woman and assured her, "Cyrina is in safe hands. I won't let anything happen to her."
Tensions were high at the place, but Iris and Cyrina's mother were in a world of their own. Everyone present, except the guards thought Iris was a clown. They didn't understand why someone like her would order people around at will, when Penelope Capsian was there.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Standing at the side with her caked-up face, Penelope Capsian was displeased at how Iris suddenly became the center of attention. Her plan was to have paparazzi capture a few shots of her looking weak in the hospital. She was counting on Tyler Harper reaching out to her after seeing the photos. Alas, Iris Bowman destroyed her chances. Iris even ignored her as if she was air.
"Iris Bowman! Are you high?" Penelope spat ruefully, trying to quell her anger. She couldn't accept being ignored - not by the likes of Iris Bowman.
"So you know my name, huh?" She asked disinterestedly.
Before Penelope could say any other words, Iris added, "Can't say I'm pleased to see trash though..."
Iris walked away with Cyrina's mother, but before they could move any further, the manager of the hospital arrived.
"Hello, Ms. Capsian. So sorry for my tardiness. I was informed that you were inconvenienced here. Please accept my sincere apologies." The man bowed before Penelope in horror, not ready to offend such an entity. He had been told to apologize sincerely, and he wouldn't dare to be tardy about it.
Penelope gave a cold guff and said, "You can apologize by getting this trash out of here." She then pointed toward Iris.
When the man's gaze landed on Cyrina's mom, he breathed a sigh of relief. 'This isn't difficult at all.'
He was poised to order the security to throw the woman out, but when his eyes landed on the fuming Iris Bowman, he went pale.
Standing before him were two powerful entities that he wouldn't dare to offend, yet he was ordered to appease only one of them. The problem was that he didn't ask who.
The man paused and scratched his head animatedly, a wry smile lacing his lips,'Who am I supposed to apologize to?'